OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE (450-1066)

The Gaels from Northern Europe invaded Britain before the 6th century BC
The Gaels and Britons, two main races of the Celts were the first inhabitants in Britain.
 the Roman conquest:
Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55BC- not conquer it
Emperor Claudius undertook the conquest of Britian in AD 43
The Romans conquered the plains of the South and Midlands >< not penetrate into mountains
of Scotland because of the Picts + Scots ( 2 Celtic tribes) resisted them
the Roman built a 70-mile-long wall across the narrowest part of the island to protect the
North of Britain.
The Roman occupation lasted from 55BC to the early years of 5th century
Latin was spoken in towns and by educated classes.
England became an imperial province
 the Anglo-Saxon conquest:
The Roman legions were called back in 410AD
The Britons defended against the Picts and Scots-> the Jutes - Jutland, Angles- england and
Saxon – plains of low Germany ( came in 449AD)
The Anglo-Saxon conquest was completed after 200 years of fighting – lasted from 450-1066
the new invaders- Christianized by Saint Augustine in 597
 the Danish conquest ( middle of 8th century- 1035)
New invaders raided the coast of England in middle of 8th century -> occupied and settled in
the North and East of E.
Viking/ Scandinavian invaders came from Norway and Denmark 8th-11th centuries.
Canute ( one of Danes) became king in 1016-1035
 the Norman conquest:
William led the Norman army in the last successful invasion of England in 1066
 THE ENGLISH LITERATURE BEGINNING
The first scholar was BEDE (673-735) – Anglo-Saxon – famous for “ Ecclesiastical history of
England”
The second was ALECUIN (735-804) – responsible for the revival of Latin scripts under the
reigion of the Emperor Charlemagne
ALFRED the Great (849-901)- used Old English( Anglo-Saxon language) and encouraged others
to do the same.

BEOWULF
One of the oldest English herioic epics
Type: poem
Author: unknown
Time: 6th century
Locale: Denmark-Sweden.

1. What did the Norman occupation play in the life of the English people?
- It played an important part in the life of the English people
2. What happened before the Norman came to invade Britain?
Britain was tormenteed by hatred and cruel fightings between people of different races
and religions who lived in different parts of the country. And the invaders, one after
another, advanced, killed and plundered when they went. So this country was they went.
So this country was falling into decadence
3. Why did England fall into decadence?
- Be she lacked a powerful & united G. & an ever-lasting noble civilization.
4. What are six remarable events?
- The perfect state of national reunification.
- The widespread of education and the establishment of the Universities of Oxford
(1949) and Cambridge (1284)
- The foundation of the House of Lords (1314) and Commons (1332)
- The 100-year War between England and France (1337-1453)
- The War of Rose b/t the two houses: Lancaster and York (1455-1485)
- The rebellion of the peasants in Kent for social justice.
5. Language and Literature
Middle English Language
- Three language were used at the same time in England:
+ French: language of the government, the courts, and the schools
 + England: sopken by Anglo-Saxon commoners
+ Latin: language of sholars and the church
- 1204: Reestalishment of the English language
- 1300: English was again known by all classes in England
- 1362: English become the official language of the courts
- 1385: Englich become the language of the schools- in place of French
- Middle English was a language of constant change  unstable, describe it only in
very general way
- East Midlands dialect was accepted as the standards language because:
+ The East Midlands  largest, populous of the language areas
+ The East Midlands  spoken by Londoners
+ The East Midlands  Great universities of Oxford and Cambridge
New form of literature
- New form of writing: The Romance, the Religious Drama and the Ballad
- The Romance: Describing the marvelous expoits of some hero of chivalry. The first
romances were written  verse , then  combination of verse and pose/ prose alone
- The Religious Drama was first closely associated with the church. The most popular
forms of drama were miracle plays, mystery plays and morality plays
- Ballad was properly an anonymous dance-song; a song accompanying a dance with
joined hands, sung at social gatherings
Middle english literature figures
- Almost 300 years before Chaucer (1066-1360), little English literature was produce.
- From 1360-1400, most of the great literature of this period was written
- “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” (1735), “Piers Ploughman” (1362), “King
Author’s Death” (Morte d’Arthur) (1470)
MODERN ENGLISH LITERATURE (1500-nowadays)
*THE DIVISIONS OF MODERN ENGLISH LITERATURE:

1. The 16th – century English Literature: The Renaissance (1500-1603) (from the turn of the
16th century to the death of Queen Elizabeth)

2. The 16th – century English Literature: The classic Literature (1603-1689) (from the death
of Queen Elizabeth to the accession of William and Mary)

3. The 18th – century English Literature: The Age Enlightenment (1689-1798) (from the
accession of William and Mary to the publication of the “Lyrical Ballad”)

4. The 19th – century English Literature (1798-1901) (from the publication of the “Lyrical
Ballad” to the death of Queen Victoria)

The 19th – century English Literature can be divided into 2 periods:

4.1 1st period (1798-1832): The Romanticism (from the publication of the “Lyrical Ballad” to
the death of Walter Scott)

4.2 2nd period (1832-1901): The Critical Realism (Victorian Literature) (from the death of
Walter Scott to the death of Queen Victoria)

5. The 20th – century English Literature (1901-now) (from the death of Queen Victoria to
now)

The 20th – century English Literature falls into 4 trends:

5.1 The Imperialist Trend

5.2 The progressive Realistic Trend

5.3 The Decadent Trend

5.4 The Socialist Realistic Trend

THE RENAISSANCE (1500-1603): SỰ PHỤC HƯNG

THE TYPICAL AUTHOR IN THIS PERIOD: WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR (1564-1616)

- Shakespeare was an actor and playwright

- Born: 23.04.1564, at Stratford-on-Avon
- Died: 23.04.1616, buried in the Church of Stratford
- Father: John Shakespeare, a well-to-do merchant and responsible citizen
- Mother: Mary Arden, a daughter od a distinguish family
- William had a good grammar school education
- 1577: was removed from school, either to be apprenticed to his father’s business or to
earn an independent living
- 18 years old: married Anne Hathaway, had 3 children (Susan (1853), the twins Hamnet
and Judith (1585), Hamnet is the only son, died and buried at Stratford in 1596.
- 1587, Shakespeare in London
- 1594, belonged to the company of the Earl of Leicester
- 1st work: appeared in 1590
- The new Globe Theatre built -> Shakespeare’s plays were staged
- 1597: purchased 1 of the largest and fitness houses in Stratford, NEWPLACE
- 1611: retired to Stratford, spent last years there
- Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays and 154 sonnets
- 3 periods in Shakespeare’s works:
+ The early period (1590-1600): mainly gay comedies, dramatic histories -> the period
of optimism of William Shakespeare
 + The middle period (1600-1608): great tragedies, bitter comedies -> the period of
maturity of William Shakespeare
+ The late period (1609-1612): legendary, lyrical plays, tragic comedies
- William Shakespeare was a great humanist
- In his work, affirmed the principle of equality, the equal moral value of people of all
classes and all races
- William Shakespeare was neither a purely tragic nor a purely comic writer, he dealt with
both tragic and comic sides of life
- Popular because:
+ His plays are filled with action
+ His characters are believable
+ His language is thrilling to hear or read
- William Shakespeare had a great tolerance, sympathy, love for all people

THE TYPICAL WORK OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: “ Hamlet- Prince of

Denmark” (1600)

- Type of work: drama

- Type of plot: tragedy
- Locale: Denmark
- First presented: 1602
- Story: book p.20-21
SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS (THƠ TRỮ TÌNH NGẮN)

- Has three four-line units or quatrains and a concluding couplet

- Has 154 sonnets:
+ about an ideal frank emotional friendship between the poet and a noble handsome
young man who was uninterruptedly by Shakespeare
+ about a love affair between the poet and an attractive charming dark lady, who was
once an unlimited source of his happiness and unhappiness
THE CLASSIC LITERATURE (1603-1689)

*Historical background:

- The 17th century England was a time of conflicts between the King and Parliament,
between Catholics and Puritans.

- Queen Elizabeth died in 1603 -> James VI of Scotland became James I of England and
Scotland, the 1st king of The Stuarts
- Impose and raise taxes, rejected by the parliament dominated by puritans

- The dispute between the king and the Parliament became more and more acute when
Charles I, son of James I succeeded the throne (dc tôn lên làm vua) in 1625, imprisoned
those parliament who prevent him

- Civil War (1640-1649) between tows camps: the king’s army and the Parliament’s army

- 1649: Charles I was captured and beheaded

- 1649: The Common wealth of England (with Cromwell as Lord Protector) was set up, the
hope and beliefs that English people placed on Cromwell began to shatter

- Cromwell’s death in 1658 made political situation in E became worse

- His son, Richard, couldn’t maintain heredity title and unite the Parliament’s army

- England fell into a state of chaos

- Charles II, an exile (người bị đày ải) in France, was called back to England to ascend the
throne, restoring the England monarchy (chế độ quân chủ)

- 1685, Charles II died without issue, left the crown to his brother, James II

- 1688, a revolution broke out, James II fled (bỏ trốn) from England to France, left the crown
to his daughter, Mary and his son-in-law, William

- The “Glorious Revolution” marked the end of the Absolute Monarchy (độc quyền) and the
beginning of the Constitutional Monarchy (lập hiến) in England

*John Milton and “Paradise Lost”

- John Milton was witness of the conflicts of his time

- As a puritan and a parliament supporter, John Milton took part in the struggle of the
puritans against the king

- With the establishment of the Commonwealth, John was appointed Foreign and Latin
Secrectary to the Council of the state (1649)

- Latin, the restoration of the monarchy in 166.0 consummated the ruin of the party which
Milton had placed all his hopes -> was imprisoned

- Although luckily released, was forced to lead a retired life in blindness

- “Paradise Lost” reflected the conflicts of his time, the struggles of his life and the hopes
- “Paradise Lost” (1667)

+ type of work: poem

+ author: John Milton

+ type of work: epic

+ locale: Heaven, hell, and Earth

+ 1st published: 1667, original in 10 books, subsequently arranged in 12

+ story: book p.26

THE AGE ENLIGHTENMENT (1689-1789)

*Historical background

- Middle of the 17th century to the end of the 18th century: the Enlightenment in England

- Remarkable events:

+ The Dispute of power between the Tory and the Whig

+ The rise of the British Empire

+ The beginning of the Industrial revolution

*Literature

The Enlightenment writers belonged to 2 groups:

+ 1st group: wanted to better the world by teaching, including Joseph Addison, Richard
steele, Daniel Defoe and Alexander Pope

+ 2nd group: openly protested against vicious social satires, including Johnathan Swift, Henry
Fielding and Robert Burns

*Typical author: Daniel Defoe 91659-1731)

- Born in 1659, in London

- Father: Foe, intended Daniel to be a dissenting minister, but he decided to engage in

business

- He failed in business, in debt

- 23 years old: wrote “Pamphlets”, attacked the policy of King Charles II, got into trouble

- 1685: took part in the rebellion of The Duke of Monmouth (illegal son of Charles II)

- Duke of Monmouth was executed -> Defoe had to run away and hide for a long time

- Change family name: Foe -> Defoe

- When King William of Orange (reign 1688-1702), Dutch nationality, was attacked by the
Tories, Defoe wrote “The True-born Englishman”, an apology of the King’s Dutch
nationality, in which he showed that there was no true-born Englishman as English nation
was mixed blood and his satire “The True-born Englishman” won the king’s sympathies.

- 1688: wrote pamphlets praising the policy of William Orange

- 1697: “Essay on Projects”

- 1702: King died -> “Projects” impossible to carry out

- 1702: “ The Shortest way with Dissenters”

- Defoe was sentenced at a square in London on July 29th, 30th, 31st 1703

- Defoe was imprisoned and spent a year in Newgate.

- 1719, 60 yrs old, published 1st part of Robinson Crusoe

- 1731: died

*TYPICAL WORK: ROBINSON CRUSOE

+ Type of work: Novel

+ Author: Daniel Defoe

+ Type of plot: Adventure romance

+ Locale: An island off the coast of South America, and the several seas

+ 1st published: 1719

THE 19TH CENTURY ENGLISH LITERATURE

A. ROMANTICISM (1798-1832)

1. Historical events

- The American revolution (1775-1783):

Was the symbol of the growth of nation consciousnessin the last decades of the 18th
century.1775, the second

In May 1775, the second continenal congress of the 13rd English colonies faced the most
basic decision: the irresistible demand for national independence

September 3, 1783 -> recognized the independence of the USA.

4th July 1776 -> the declaration of independence by Congress about “ All men are created
equal”

- The french revolution (1789):

The success in 14/7/1789

- The “ holy alliance”

- The industrial revolution

- The post-war england:

2. Romanticism:
Was the embodiment of disillusionment ( in the consequences of the french revolution) and
negative attitudes ( of various social layers towards the way of life that the Industrial
Revolution created) towards the actual world.
Advocated returning to NATURE

The romantics
Conduct dream worlds from their imagination as a refuge for their souls

ROMANTICISM IN ENGLISH POETRY

3. The two generations of the Romantics
 the convervative trend ( the lake school)
Early in the 1798 William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey
formed “the lake school” -> named after a beautiful lake in the North West of england
where they live for a long time.
The Lake poets underwent evolution in their political views and creative activities. ->
protest against social injustice
They turn away from the idea of the Enlightenment to the distrust of reason and
rationalism.
 the progressive trend ( the cockney school)
Quite opposed to the Conservative Trend of Romanticism
 Representatives: Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats
Saw negative sides of capitalist development and criticized them.
4. The contrast of two trends
5. The typical authors:
 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH ( 1770-1850):
Was born in Cockermouth, Cumberland

The first influence upon him as a poet is NATURE, next is MAN

+ Typical poems:

- The Daffodilis (1804)

- The rainbow (1802)

 GEORGE GORDON BYRON (1788-?)

- Was the descendant of an old Norse family – emigrated from Scandinavia to Normandy
- His works are associared with freedom, love and realisim
+ Typical poems:
- When we two parted (1808) – derived from “ Hos of Idleness”
- Written after the separation with Mary Chartworth
B. CRITICAL REALISM (1832-1901)

* Historical background:

- In the Victorian Age (1837-1901): the age of “Compromise”

* Chartism:

June 1836, formed ‘The London Workingmen’s Association’

to attract the ‘intelligent and influential portion of the working class’.

✡ February 1837, a petition were embodied the six demands ( known as the People’s
Charter):

- Equal electoral districts

- Abolition of the property qualifications for M.Ps
- Universal manhood suffrage
- Annual parliamentsVote by ballot
- Payment of M.Ps
1848: the failure of Chartism

TYPICAL WRITERS:
 Chales Dickens (1812-1870): his literary can be separared into 4 periods

+ first period: 1833-1841

+ second period: 1842-1848

+ third period: 1850-1859

+ fourth period:1860-1865

DAVID COPPERFIELD (1850):

Type of work: novel

Type of plot: sentimental and romance

Time: early 19th century

Locale: England

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)

- Born July 18 ,1811- died December 24, 1863 in Calcutta, India

- Married Isabella Gethin Shawe
- had three children, all girls : Anne Isabella ( 1837-1919), Jane ( who died at eight months
old), Harriet Marian (1840-1875)
VANTITY FAIR (1847)

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Social satire

Time of plot: early 19th century

Locale: England and Europe

First published: 1847- 1848